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SEO Basics: Keyword Research

Keyword Research for SEO

Any good SEO begins with keyword research. The most common starting point for keyword research is Google’s Adwords. Google’s Keyword tool offers a cost estimate for running a campaign using a particular keyword, estimated search volume and suggested keywords.

Using the Google keyword tool to discover the volume of a keyword, set the Match Type option to ‘Exact’ and view the ‘Local Monthly Searches’. The results will represent the total number of searches. When you apply these keywords to your own website the number of visitors will depend on the click-through-rates of the site and of ranking positions.

Keyword Difficulty

The difficulty in getting a website found for a particular keyword or phrase will depend on the extent of the competition for the same traffic. You will need to understand how much your keyword is in demand and also consider how much work is required in making your presence felt in the results.

Be aware of the big brands which are also getting found for your keyword. If many big websites are already taking up the top rankings for your favoured key phrase, it may be very difficult to get noticed.

Difficulty and SERP Analysis

One influential tool in determining the difficulty of your keyword is the Keyword Difficulty and SERP Analysis Tool by Moz.com. When you enter a keyword into the tool, your keyword will be assessed for difficulty based on an analysis of the pages ranking highly for that keyword.

Using a keyword difficulty analysis tool, you can gain an understanding of the potential traffic that you can expect from each keyword.